Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 176 The Secret of Tiger Temple

It was late at night and the room was quiet. Outside the room, the sound of insects chirping could be heard one after another, and the breeze rustled the leaves.

Suddenly, Li Zhi, who had fallen asleep, opened his eyes abruptly, and a hint of alertness flashed in his eyes.

He sat up slowly and glanced at Xu Zhen and Erniu who were sleeping soundly. Li Zhi did not disturb them, but walked out of the room quietly and almost without making any sound.

As soon as he walked out of the room, Li Zhi looked up and saw Wang Yang also walking out of his room cautiously.

Their eyes met in the silent night, and they smiled knowingly at each other. They understood each other tacitly and kept silent. They nodded slightly, and then walked quietly in the same direction, their figures gradually blending into the night.

Wang Yang moved closer to Li Zhi and lowered his voice and said, "Did you hear it too?"

Li Zhi nodded gently, his eyes flickering. He did hear the slight roar of the tiger, and not only that, he also vaguely saw some strange things through the vision of the mosquito demon.

Wang Yang continued in a low voice: "Huqi Temple... Is there really a tiger there?"

At that moment just now, an extremely faint tiger roar was heard. Only Li Zhi and Wang Yang, who were very sharp-eyed and vigilant, could hear that slight roar.

Li Zhi recalled what Pu Hui had said just now. Wasn't the tiger in Huqi Temple driven away? Then why was there still the roar of the tiger in Huqi Temple? He felt a little strange.

This is why he came out so late at night.

Li Zhi and Wang Yang walked all the way to the depths of the temple. Wang Yang frowned. He could only hear where the sound came from roughly, but could not detect the specific location.

But Li Zhi was there, and he had already located the place through the mosquito demon.

Li Zhi waved to Wang Yang, then he crouched down and slipped out from behind the temple like a nimble wild cat.

Wang Yang hurriedly followed, and the two of them crossed the backyard of the temple and plunged into the dense jungle next to the temple.

Li Zhi's route forward was extremely firm. He walked along the way without any hesitation, as if he knew the terrain here very well, as if he had already known where the target was.

Wang Yang's eyes flashed with doubt. He didn't understand why Li Zhi could be so sure of the direction. But Wang Yang didn't ask any more questions, just followed Li Zhi silently.

Not long after, Li Zhi suddenly stopped, squatted down, put his index finger to his mouth, and signaled Wang Yang not to speak.

Wang Yang immediately understood that they had reached their destination. He leaned forward carefully and listened attentively to the movements around him.

Sure enough, a slight rustling sound came into my ears, like someone walking.

Li Zhi and Wang Yang quickly squatted down to hide their bodies.

After a while, two monks were seen carrying a large bucket and walking slowly towards the temple.

When the monks passed by, a strong stench of decay hit them in the face. Li Zhi and Wang Yang could not help but frown and cover their noses. They didn't know what was in the barrel and why it emitted such a pungent smell.

After the two monks left, Wang Yang couldn't help but say, "That smell! It's like the smell of rotting meat."

Li Zhi frowned, his eyes full of confusion.

What were the two monks doing carrying a bucket of rotten meat in the middle of the night?

This strange behavior aroused the curiosity of Li Zhi and Wang Yang, and they walked stealthily towards the place where the monk had just come out.

As they went deeper, a fishy smell became stronger.

Gradually, Li Zhi heard some strange sounds, which seemed like panting.

The panting sound was dull and hoarse, like an old bellows being pulled with difficulty. Every breath was filled with heavy fatigue, and the heavy breath was intermittent, sometimes disappearing, like the fire of life swaying in the wind, which could be extinguished at any time.

Li Zhi looked back at Wang Yang, and saw that Wang Yang was also confused, and he had obviously heard the panting sound. Li Zhi nodded to Wang Yang, and the two of them understood each other, quickened their pace, and walked inside eagerly.

Finally, the two arrived at their destination.

However, the scene before them made Li Zhi and Wang Yang a little stunned.

A fishy smell mixed with the smell of decay and feces and urine hit them in the face, almost making Li Zhi and the others vomit on the spot.

In front of Li Zhi and his companions was an iron cage, inside which was a dirty and skinny tiger.

The tiger lay weakly in the cage. If it weren't for its body still rising and falling and the occasional gasping sound coming from it, Li Zhi almost thought that the tiger was dead.

The tiger's eyes revealed endless fatigue and despair, as if it had been forgotten by the world. Its hair was messy and covered with dirt, and its former majesty had long since disappeared, leaving only this pitiful appearance.

There were still some leftover food from the tiger outside the iron cage. The highly rotten meat made it difficult to tell what it was, but Li Zhi knew it was human meat.

Because Li Zhi saw some human skeletons nearby.

"This... must be the tiger in Huqi Temple..." Li Zhi said slowly.

Wang Yang nodded in agreement and said, "That's probably the case. They didn't drive the tiger away, but imprisoned it."

Li Zhi stood in front of the iron cage that emitted a foul smell, and his doubts gradually cleared up. He roughly understood what happened between the tiger and Huqi Temple.

The monks of Huqi Temple were caught in a dilemma. They were worried that releasing the tiger back into the mountains would cause more killings, but they could not bring themselves to break their precepts of not killing and kill the tiger with their own hands.

So they chose to imprison the tiger here, sending it food every day to sustain its life, and keeping it like this.

But tigers eat meat, and monks are not allowed to kill, so what can they do?

They could only steal some dead bodies to feed the tiger. Due to eating rotten meat for a long time and being locked in a small cage exposed to wind and rain, the old tiger's life was like a candle in the wind, and it only had one last breath left.

Li Zhi looked at the tiger in front of him, shook his head and said, "It would be better to just kill it."

Wang Yang smiled strangely when he heard this. He said, "Kill him? Wouldn't that be a violation of the precepts?"

Li Zhi also showed a helpless expression: "Is it possible to imprison it until it dies without violating the precepts?"

After satisfying his curiosity, Li Zhi and Wang Yang returned quietly. As for the tiger, Li Zhi did not intend to intervene. Although the tiger looked pitiful, Li Zhi knew that there was no need to cause trouble for this beast that had eaten humans.

Especially since the monks from Huqi Temple were kind enough to provide them with accommodation, there was no need to embarrass them.

After returning home, Li Zhi lay on the bed, his thoughts gradually calmed down. He soon fell asleep and slept until dawn.